Back & Pelvic Pain in Pregnancy

Around half of all women who become pregnant will develop back or pelvic pain at some point during their pregnancy.

Pain can be felt in the lower back or buttocks or over the pubic bone (called Pubic Symphysis Dysfunction). The pain is often worse on one side and may even swap sides from one day to the next.

Pain that comes from the back is often different to pain that comes from the pelvis. Pelvic pain is often misdiagnosed as sciatica and as the treatment for these two conditions is quite different, it is important to have a full assessment from a qualified professional, experienced in the treatment of pelvic pain in pregnancy, in order to decide how to treat the pain.
Treatment
Pelvic Pain usually occurs when the pelvic joints are ‘unlocked’. Treatment involves learning how to ‘lock out’ your joints during your daily activities to control the pain. A support belt will help to control some of the movement in your pelvis and you will be taught exercises to stabilise your pelvis. Uneven stiffness in your back or hips may also cause the pelvic joints to become over-stressed and mobilisation of these joints will help to reduce symptoms.